A typical Borrowdale day.

Where do you go when it's wet in The Lakes? You head down Borrowdale, reputedly the wettest place in Britain, that's where you go! Actually that is a myth; parts of Snowdonia, The Highlands and even The Scafells are wetter. Having said that, Borrowdale does have more than its fair share of rain, with floods in 2007, 2009, 2011 plus a particularly bad flood in 2015 when Storm Desmond hit Britain.

One good thing about going out in weather like this is that there is always somewhere to park; even in Rosthwaite which is usually a bit of a honeypot. I didn't set out to go on any particular walk as there are so many paths and lanes in this area. This makes it very easy to "just walk" and decide where you are heading on the fly. I did a roughly circular walk which took me to Stonethwaire, then across the valley into Johnny Wood and Longthwaite before following the River Derwent back to Rosthwaite.

I called in at the lovely St Andrew’s Church in Stonethwaite. Christian settlements are known to have existed here since AD 1200, when the monks of Furness Abbey and Fountains Abbey developed farming and mining interests in the area. The Church was consecrated in 1687 and now contains the pulpit brought from Mardale Church in 1937, when the Haweswater Reservoir was built. Also the Churchyard contains the gravestones of some colourful local characters, including Sarah Youdale, who lived until she was 100 years old, and apparently never left the valley. Another belongs to Bob Graham, the famous marathon fell runner. His tombstone records his greatest run – 42 peaks, 32000 feet, 130 miles in 23 hours and 39 minutes! Some going.

As is usual when I'm in these parts, I called in the Borrowdale Youth Hostel for a cup of coffee, which also gave me an opportunity to dry out a bit. I was once told by a local that the Youth Hostel building was built in the 1940s to house children who had been evacuated from the North East during the Second World War. From what he said, it must have been quite a bit of a culture shock for both the kids and residents of the sleepy valley!

I also made a quick call in at Seathwaite at the head of the valley to take a few photos of the farm for a project I'm doing about the Herdwicks and farming in the Lakes. It was a bit grim and very muddy so I didn't stay too long but did manage to get some photos which realistically depict farming life in The Lakes.

I had a great afternoon, albeit a wet afternoon which just goes to prove that you don't need the sun out to enjoy this beautiful part of the Lakes. This is what Alfred Wainwright wrote about Borrowdale in one of his guide books "It encloses this one mile of country containing no high mountain, no lake, no famous crag, no tarn. But, in the author's humble submission it encloses the loveliest square mile in Lakeland". I can't disagree with that.